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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Jay Cost Makes The Case, Economy Is Huge But Democratic Downfall Was Obamacare

Must read piece over at Real Clear Politics showing the graphs and data relevant at the time of the healthcare vote and how Democrats not only can pinpoint their loss of momentum but watched it turn to dust to end up where they are now, trailing 10 points in Gallup's latest Generic Congressional Ballot and trailing by 25 points in the enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats.

Teaser:

Reconstructing the Democrats' meme, we can fairly say that the economy is a huge problem for the party. Of this, there can be no doubt. We can also say that the stalled recovery denied the Democrats a chance to win back the voters they lost over health care. But the process and passage of health care reform were crucial elements in the story. That's when the party started losing the voters it needs to retain control of the government.

Make sure you read the whole thing and follow the links and pay attention to the graphs and time lines.

While major media and the Left would prefer to not even mention healthcare anymore, polling continues to leave Obamacare with more opposed (51.2 percent) than in favor (39.4 percent), on average.

The bottom line is that while the economy is first and foremost on the public's mind as a whole, jamming through Obamacare, the public understanding that the Democrats were determined to pass it even as the majority of Americans stood up and opposed it, was the beginning of their fast decline in polling.

Democrats that think that people going to the polls in November will not remember Obamacare and will be casting their vote with only the economy in mind.... are sorely mistaken.

The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll shows that while the economy is the most important factor in how voters will be voting in November, healthcare is also in the top three.

Respondents listed health care as the third most important factor in deciding how they’ll vote this fall — behind the economy and “dissatisfaction with government.”

Forty-two percent of respondents said health care reform will play an “extremely important” role in their ballot-box decisions, on par with the 41 percent who said the same thing in June.

According to Rasmussen, 58 percent of US voters still favor repealing Obamacare.

Anyone claiming that healthcare was not the start of Democrats freefall in the polls and suggest that Obamacare will not have anything to do with how people will vote in November, is simply burying their head in the sand.